Which Lemonade Stand Would You Prefer?

I watch a lot of business news during the day. CNBC, the NBC business channel, has an early morning program called Squawk Box. It has a unique ability of making things seem alright even when they are not. Nothing rattles these guys, not even 9-ll. One of its anchors passed away a few weeks ago, and the network replaced him with semi-regular guest pundit Andrew Ross Sorkin, who also happens to be a journalist with the New York Times. Ouch!!!!

This morning, in a debate with a Republican congressman, Sorkin commented that the congressman should be specific when saying the too much regulation from government is bad for business. I shook my head in disbelief. It’s pretty clear he has never run a business.

I emailed CNBC with the following comment: “Perhaps Andrew should try to open up a lemonade stand to learn how business works. Wait a minute. He can't. The police would shut him down for not having a $150.00 vendor’s permit.”

There have several incidences around the country where police have shut down kids selling lemonade in their driveway trying to make a buck or two to buy whatever kids their age buy. What a better way to make entrepreneurs. Verizon ran a commercial for months where they showed how little Suzie turned her lemonade stand in a national company. Verizon must live in the old United States. That couldn’t happen in Georgia where the chief of police said that the little girl’s lemonade was dangerous because they didn’t know what was in the lemonade…or who made it.

So what did those kids in Georgia learn? They learned what Andrew Ross Sorkin didn’t. An oppressive government stymies, and even closes down, businesses. Hope for expansion or jobs? Forget about it. Those little girls learned not to go into business…the cops may come and arrest you for someone smoking a cigarette in line while waiting for lemonade with too much sugar.

People joke about the closing of these lemonade stands. But it is absolutely indicative of what is happening in America today. Which vision of America do you want? The vision shown in the Verizon commercial…or the vision shown in the police closing down a ten year olds effort to make a buck selling a cool beverage on a hot day?

Shame on America for letting it come to this.